Industry huddles to plot its 'march-in' rights fight

From: POLITICO's National Security Daily - Friday Dec 22,2023 12:39 am
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By Caitlin Oprysko

With Daniel Lippman

PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off next week for the holidays but back to our normal schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 2.

INDUSTRY HUDDLES TO PLOT PUSHBACK TO BIDEN MARCH-IN RIGHTS PLAN: As the Biden administration threatens to test its authority to seize the patents of certain high-priced drugs, the business community convened this week coordinate its battle plan.

— The U.S. Chamber of Commerce convened more than 100 companies, trade groups and other individuals on Tuesday for a call to discuss the implications and industry response to the White House announcement this month that it has the authority to assert so-called march-in rights on drugs or other “inventions” that were developed using public funds, sources familiar with the call told PI.

— The sources, who were granted anonymity in order to discuss the previously unreported call, would not disclose the name of companies or trade groups that participated beyond that it included representatives of the venture capital, manufacturing and life sciences industries along with tech and chipmakers and intellectual property advocacy groups.

— While the White House’s announcement focused on invoking the authority to lower the price of expensive drugs, under the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act, the business community has argued that it could open the door to this administration or future administrations using the same justification to seize patents for other emerging tech like clean energy.

— Tuesday’s call featured a presentation from Joe Allen, the executive director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition, which counts the National Venture Capital Association, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the drug lobbies PhRMA and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and close to dozen colleges and universities among its members.

— Allen, who helped pass the Bayh-Dole Act as a congressional staffer, said in an interview that he walked participants through the law and discussed what he viewed as the shaky authority and detrimental impacts of the White House’s move. “The more the discussion went on, a lot of the comments came back from not people in the drug industry, people in other industries, realizing … ‘We didn't [think] this affected us, but now we're at risk,’” Allen said.

— The Bayh-Dole Coalition today requested that the public comment period for the proposal be extended, and Allen told PI that the coalition is signing on to a letter to the same effect that the Chamber plans to send imminently. The Chamber also teased FOIA requests related to the proposal.

— Asked for details about the call, the Chamber said that the FOIA requests will demand details about the interagency Bayh-Dole working group that developed the draft guidance as well as members of that group’s past employment; records and documents from the group’s meetings and correspondence between the working group and members of Congress or advocacy groups.

— “The march-in proposal, if enacted, will confiscate property and America’s innovation engine will shut down,” Tom Quaadman, the head of the Chamber’s Global Innovation Policy Center, said in a statement. “The Chamber is committed to using our convening power to mobilize the business community to stop the Administration from destroying America's innovation sector.”

Happy Thursday and welcome to PI. We’ve almost made it through the shortest day of the year, folks. Send lobbying tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

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POLITICIANS OFFLOAD DONATIONS FROM DONOR: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and GOP congressional candidate Joe Kent have unloaded donations from a campaign donor who pleaded guilty to a stock manipulation charge earlier this year, after PI highlighted the donation.

Ira Gaines, who works for a Phoenix-based financial firm, was sentenced to 60 months probation in June for selling unregistered securities, and paid almost $100,000 in restitution to the victims of the scheme in addition to a $10,000 fine. He donated $750 to Sinema on Sept. 15, and a spokesperson for the senator told the Arizona Republic’s Laura Gersony she has donated it to charity.

— Gaines has donated to several other politicians in recent months, including Kent, who is angling for a rematch against Washington Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez next year. Gaines donated $300 to Kent on Sept. 18, according to FEC records. A spokesperson for Kent’s campaign told PI that Kent was previously unaware of Gaines, and provided a screenshot of a receipt for a donation of the same amount to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

— Gaines has made several thousand dollars’ worth of other political donations since his guilty plea, including to Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), an Arizona pro-Israel PAC, and a PAC for the House Freedom Caucus. The same month that Gaines pleaded guilty, FEC records show he wrote a $1,000 check to the presidential campaign of former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley. None of the PACs or lawmakers responded to a request for comment on the donations.

— The Arizona Republic reports that “in 2004, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Gaines an enjoinder after he was accused of making fraudulent offers to shareholders and ordered him to pay upward of $120,000 as part of the judgment. He engaged in ‘virtually identical conduct’ in 1999, the SEC wrote at the time,” though Gaines disputed the SEC’s characterization of the 2004 judgment.

— "I don't know these people well but I love every Republican on earth," Gaines told Daniel in a brief interview. Even though he pleaded guilty in his criminal case, he said "the case is not accurate."

WHO HELPED DELAY THE MENTHOL BAN: Mother Jones Dan Friedman and Isabela Dias peel back the curtains on a “massive, shadowy lobbying push” against the White House’s plans to ban menthol cigarettes before the proposal’s delay this month. “Evidence suggests that much of this effort — involving more than a half dozen organizations across the political spectrum — was funded by Reynolds American, the big tobacco company that earns a major chunk of its revenue from its Newport menthol cigarette brand.”

— Opposition has come from such ideologically disparate groups like the Border Security Alliance, which warned that a menthol ban would boost Mexican drug cartels, and the Alliance for Fair and Equitable Policy, which raised alarms about a menthol ban’s effects on overpolicing in Black communities. Both groups were formed within days of new developments surrounding a menthol ban.

— “Reynolds previously has provided funding for a host of other groups involved in the broad campaign opposing the menthol ban, and the corporation has clear ties to AFEP. When Mother Jones asked Reynolds specifically about ads by those two groups, the tobacco giant did not dispute paying for them.”

— “This campaign is notable for its ideological flexibility. The groups involved are exploiting existing hot-button issues on the left and right. And it seems to be working.”

ANNALS OF CONGRESSIONAL STOCK HOLDING: “Nearly a quarter of the lawmakers on a House committee whose decisions directly affect the oil, natural gas and utility industries own shares in companies across those sectors,” according to a review of their financial disclosures by our Ben Lefebvre.

— “The equity holdings among the House Natural Resources Committee members aren’t illegal and congressional rules only require lawmakers to report their holdings in broad ranges, making an exact calculation impossible.”

— “But a review of the financial disclosures found that 11 of the committee’s 45 members had a combined ownership of between $277,000 and nearly $1.1 million in shares of energy companies or exchange-traded funds that were at least half full of energy-related equities.”

— “Those stocks illustrate the prickly ethics issue around lawmakers’ ownership of financial stakes in industries they are supposed to oversee. The issue has drawn scrutiny from watchdog groups as well as some lawmakers who have pushed legislation that would bar their colleagues from holding such stocks — efforts that have stalled despite broad support.”

— “For example, four committee Republicans, including Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), own shares in Chevron, one of the largest oil companies in the United States.” In addition, Westerman holds “between $15,000 and $50,000 of iShares TR Global Energy, a BlackRock fund that consists almost entirely of fossil fuel company stocks, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, according to his latest financial disclosure forms.”

— “The committee chair isn’t alone. It’s not just committee Republicans who own stock in companies tied to fossil fuel companies. Some committee members hold shares in businesses that appear to be in stark contrast with the lawmaker’s public messaging.”

A PRE-CHRISTMAS HAIL MARY: “The head of the American Bankers Association is urging President Joe Biden to intervene and slow a barrage of regulations pending for U.S. lenders, warning of a significant upheaval in the banking industry that could impact the economy,” per our Zach Warmbrodt.

— “ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols sent a letter to Biden this week asking him to meet with the group's board and to order an interagency review of the looming rules before they take effect.”

— “‘If preserving the dynamic, diverse U.S. banking system remains a priority for the nation and access to affordable banking services for every American a table-stakes imperative, I encourage you to ask tough questions about the regulatory tsunami now forming and whether it is consistent with your goals to increase economic growth and expand opportunities for all Americans,’ Nichols wrote.”

— “The request marks an escalation in the banking lobby's fight with Biden-era regulators over a host of planned safeguards. Nichols in his letter cited policy overhauls including tougher capital requirements, a revamp of the Community Reinvestment Act, payments regulations, a reporting mandate for small business lending and changes to Federal Home Loan Banks.”

— While “it's unlikely that Biden would second-guess his own regulators, and it's not a surprise that bankers are pushing back hard against the planned rules,” and the ABA’s appeal “comes as the administration faces bipartisan complaints from Capitol Hill and groups outside the banking industry about some of the planned regulations.”

 

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Jobs Report

Cody Carbone has been promoted to chief policy officer of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. He was previously vice president of policy.

Matt Simeon is joining California public affairs firm Rodriguez Strategies as chief of staff. He was previously a principal at LSG.

Jason Pye has rejoined FreedomWorks as policy adviser. He will remain director of the Due Process Institute’s rule of law initiatives.

Thomas Spoehr is now a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, per Morning Defense. He previously was director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense.

Jill Aitoro is now RTX’s senior communications manager, leading digital technology communications. She was previously the senior manager of digital technology communications at RTX subsidiary Collins Aerospace.

Lynda Tran has left DOT where she was director of public engagement and a senior adviser to the secretary. She is joining the board of directors of infrastructure professional services firm STV.

Avika Dua has joined SKDK as a vice president. She previously was digital director for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and is a Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Pete for America alum.

CORRECTION: Wednesday’s edition of Influence misidentified Jagir Patel's preferred pronouns. PI regrets the error.

New Joint Fundraisers

Colin Allred Victory Fund (Rep. Colin Allred, Texas Democratic Party)

Kirsten Engel Victory Fund (Engel For Arizona, Arizona Democratic Party)

New PACs

aMAZIng PAC (Leadership PAC: Mazi Melesa Pilip)

Defense Now PAC (Hybrid PAC)

GOOD FIGHT (Super PAC)

JUST PAC (Hybrid PAC)

Progress Wave USA (Super PAC)

PROUD AMERICAN (Leadership PAC: James Baird)

SCBCC Political Action Committee (PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Actum I, LLC: Fire Island Pines Property Owners Association

Berliner Corcoran & Rowe: Solway Investment Group Gmbh

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: American Clean Power Association

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Dept Of Military & Veterans Affairs, State Of New Jersey

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Disa Technologies, Inc.

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Georgia Ports Authority

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Oceana, Inc.

Center For Ai Safety Action Fund, Inc.: Center For Ai Safety Action Fund, Inc.

Confluence Government Relations: Total Spectrum USvi

David Rudd & Associates LLC: Wing Aviation LLC

Dentons US LLP: Gulf And Atlantic Railways, LLC

Invariant LLC: Appen Ai Inc.

Mayer Brown LLP: Majority Leader Of The Senate Of Puerto Rico

Ml Strategies, LLC: Springs Window Fashions, LLC

Republic Consultants, LLC: Knds - Kmw + Nexter Defense Systems

Rising Tide Associates: Tedder Industries, LLC

Rising Tide Associates: Ykk Corporation Of America

Traction Strategic: Fluor Corporation

Traction Strategic: Iheartmedia

Waverly Group: Troika Solutions

Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Grail, LLC

New Lobbying Terminations

Key Advocates, Inc.: Delta Diablo Sanitation District

Key Advocates, Inc.: National Auto Auction Association

Key Advocates, Inc.: Placer County Transportation Planning Agency

Republic Consultants, LLC: Wegmann USa, Inc.

Velocity Government Relations, LLC: Sparc Research

A message from Lockheed Martin:

Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.

Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more.

 
 

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